Beautiful shades of brown The art of Laura Wheeler Waring

Gr 1--4--Laura Wheeler Waring (1887--1948) combined colors to create the exact shades of brown that depicted the skin tones of the loved ones she painted. Artistic representation during the time period Waring came of age was far from inclusive. Portraits of African Americans and artwork created by black artists were not welcomed into museums. Waring pursued her passion and was eventually commissioned to paint important African American people for a traveling exhibit that displayed her art in the Smithsonian and other museums. This biography succeeds by keeping its focus on Waring's artistic journey. When discussing her portrait of singer Marian Anderson, Churnin forms an emotional link between these two women and spotlights the potential for their work to break barriers. The straightforward narrative allows young readers to connect with Waring as a person, recognize her dedication to her craft, and appreciate her accomplishments. The recurring theme of brown as a complex and beautiful color is an effective metaphor for the celebration of African American people and culture central to Waring's work. Marshall's painted illustrations are an artistic tribute rendered in the style of Waring's paintings. VERDICT A meticulously crafted account of a trailblazing artist. Recommended for general purchase, particularly for libraries looking to include more biographies of black women artists.--Elizabeth Lovsin, Deerfield Public Library, IL

Laura Wheeler Waring saw "brown [as] a rainbow" and painted it that way.Growing up in turn-of-the-20th-century Connecticut in a middle-class African American household, Laura works for "hours mixing and blending" paints in order to replicate the shades she sees in her family members. Determined to pursue a career in art, she studies at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and then in Paris, honing her craft. Attending a concert given by a young Marian Anderson, Laura vows to paint the singer someday. A 1944 commission for "portraits of important African Americans" finds her painting the likenesses of Alice Dunbar Nelson, James Weldon Johnson, W.E.B. Du Boisand Marian Anderson. Churnin ably conjures the painter's process, thrillingly describing Laura's painstaking combination of shades to create just the right browns for each subject. She is less adept at helping readers understand the barriers Laura must have faced, saying only that "there weren't portraits of African Americans in museums" during Laura's childhood and that her art education was undertaken among mostly white peers; one sentence in her author's note acknowledges the limited opportunities available to African Americans of Laura's time. While the evocation of Laura's joy in her art is admirable, skimming over the everyday injustices she must have faced paints only half her picture. Marshall's illustrations are appropriately painterly, capturing the play of light on her characters' brown faces.An important story only partially realized. (timeline, further reading) (Picture book/biography. 5-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.